Legacy
by emeraldwolf
Summary: After Endless Waltz, Duo can't give up being a Gundam pilot, but can't fight alone. Who will be the new Gundam pilots? YAOI! DuoxOC. If you like 2x1 there's some of that here too. All the OC's belong to me. Incomplete, stopped indefinately.
1. Children of the war

Okay, this is an idea I've had for a long time. It takes place in two different time periods, which I'll specify at the beginning of each chapter. The rating will be higher as chapters go along, but for now it's nice and PG. ^_^ This has het and yaoi in it. HeeroxRelena, but they barely even show up in the story. There are also a lot of original characters in here that I needed for the story. This is a Duo and one of my original character centric fic.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Wake up Duo." A soft voice whispered to the huddle of blankets. No movement.  
  
"I said it's time to get up and go to work Duo." The voice hardened. Still no sign of life from beneath the covers.  
  
"Get out of the freakin bed!" A boot came flying towards the mass of blankets and body and connected solidly with the person's back. A few mumbles from the disturbed hibernator, and a tousled brown head popped out.  
  
"What are you," Duo yawned, his violet eyes closing as his mouth took up his entire face, "waking me up for so early Jason?" The 21 year old blinked sleepily up at the man who stood smiling above him.  
  
"Cause the doc has requested your presence." Jason poked Duo's forehead and laughed at the younger man's reaction of crossing his eyes and staring at the finger. Standing back up to his impressive height, Jason folded his muscular arms over his chest. The head mechanic was about six and a half feet tall, and had messy brown hair that he kept very short. He always had stubble around his chin, and a dark tan with a few grease spots here and there. His gray tight fitting tank top showed off his enormous muscles. But despite his impressive size, he had gentle brown eyes and a smile to match. Of all the people working at the base, Duo and his head mechanic got along better than anyone else.  
  
"Can't he wait a few hours, I still got some healing to do from the last mission." Duo threw his covers back over his head and tried to fall back asleep. Two strong arms yanked the blanket off of him and Duo shivered, only wearing a pair of black sweatpants. Jason grabbed him by and arm and held him in the air above his bed.  
  
"It's important Duo." The weathered warrior opened his eyes as he heard all the playful joy leave Jason's voice. Placing him back on his bed, Jason turned to leave.  
  
"It has to do with the injuries you got in the last mission. Howard says to see him in his office. Some new things are going to happen around here Duo, better be ready." Before leaving, Jason smiled once more at the boy who was sitting on the bed thinking, and left the room.  
  
Duo looked in his mirror and winced. Given his living conditions, one might think he was wincing at the ragged bed, harsh metallic walls, or the lack of any real light. But Duo's eyes were focused on the bullet hole in his side and the burn marks on his shoulder. His last mission had been really close. Even for a Gundam pilot. 'One of a kind now.' Duo rose from his bed and got dressed and braided his hair.  
  
As he walked out into the hallway of the base he called home, Duo began to think about the other pilots. Quatre was head of his company, and had so much to do that he didn't have time to debate whether he should fight or not. Overworked wasn't a mile close to a description of the Winner heir's life. Trowa, on the other hand, was living out a dream of rest and relaxation and having knives thrown at him. 'No place like home.' Duo smiled at his memories of visiting Trowa at the circus. It was the only place the boy truly looked at home. The only pilot that Duo saw often was Wufei. He had chosen the life of a Preventer along with Sally Po. 'I always knew those two had something for each other.' None of the other pilots were willing to give up a real life and go back to killing. Wufei couldn't stay away from it, but he did it legally and under restrictions. If anyone found out that he gave important tips and information to Duo, a renegade Gundam pilot who disobeyed the laws, he would be fired at the very least.  
  
'Heero.' Duo paused on his way to Howard's office and just stood in the hallway. 'When was the last time I saw Heero? Four years ago was it? Yes. When Relena had their kid.' Relena and Heero had married immediately after the Mariameia incident. Even more surprisingly, 9 months later Relena gave birth to Alae Yuy. Duo and the others had been at both the wedding and the birth of Heero's son. But those were the last times they had been together. Heero had a vice foreign minister as a wife and a son to take care of, so he had naturally been excluded from the chance to once again become a Gundam pilot when Howard offered. 'Swearing to never kill anyone ever again doesn't help a pilot's resume anyway either.'  
  
Duo still felt a slight ache when he thought of the other pilots. They had all went back to a normal life. All he had to go back to was an alley and a gutter. Still, life wasn't as interesting without a certain Japanese pilot to lust after.  
  
A few mechanics who were up this early looked up as the black clad man walked through the hangars. They all waved and gave friendly hellos and Duo returned them with his usual grins. Putting his hands in his black jeans, Duo strolled over to what appeared to be a huddled mass of green and brown on the floor.  
  
"Heya Matt. Whatcha working on?" Duo stood there, waiting for a response from the boy. Jason's son resembled his father in the fact that he had brown hair, although it fell straighter than his father's, and his soft brown eyes. Looking up, the seven year old held his grubby hand out from underneath the camouflage jacket he wore that was more of a blanket that a coat.  
  
Duo took the small device in his hand and wondered just how much Jason had taught his son about electronics and mechanics, and how much the boy just knew on instinct.  
  
"What does it do?" Duo cocked his head to the side and pondered the small round device in his hand. Matt pointed to a red button on the top and gave a small smile. If Matt ever spoke, it was where no one was. Duo had yet to hear him say a single word, which was a thankful difference between Matt and his dad.  
  
Duo pushed the red button and dropped the ball the second he had. His jaw dropped as the small metallic ball fell and smashed into the floor. It had been too heavy for him to hold, and now it was sitting in it's own dent on the floor. Matt giggled and pressed a blue button then picked up the once again light ball, handing it to Duo with a smirk.  
  
"You know, you shouldn't play around with the density of stuff. It's not nice." Duo laughed and ruffled Matt's hair as he passed the proud inventor. 'That kid is going to make some interesting stuff when he's older.'  
  
Finally Duo came to the door of Howard's office and walked right in, having never knocked in the past, he wasn't going to start now. The old man in his Hawaiian shirt turned and smiled at his favorite pilot.  
  
"Yo Duo. I'm glad you came so fast. I only sent Jason to get you an hour ago." Duo could feel that the old man's eyes were smiling beneath his sunglasses.  
  
"So maybe I got a little distracted, it's too early to be up anyway." Duo plopped down in one of the chairs in the small office and lounged with his arms above his head.  
  
"Duo, I have something important to talk to you about."  
  
"I'm listening." The soldier looked up and paid more careful attention to the man who was responsible for everything he had. Howard was the only surviving doctor who had created the Gundams, and he felt the same way as Duo, someone needed to keep the peace. The Preventers were helpful, but they had no real power when they were being restricted by Relena's pacifist laws. Howard had even been kind enough to give Duo a permanent home and rebuild the Deathscythe for him. Without the old man, Duo would be without weapons, a home, or the team of mechanics he had worked with during the war.  
  
"You got beat up pretty bad in that last battle. I know you used to fight on your own, but you're getting thrashed on every mission."  
  
"If it means keeping any more wars from happening, I don't mind a few busted ribs every now and then."  
  
"One Gundam isn't enough Duo. We can't keep up with all the dangerous insurrections happening on the colonies and on Earth."  
  
"Look, we've had this conversation before, the other pilots have lives of their own. None of them can help us." Duo looked away from the brightly dressed man and gazed at a few of the pictures Howard had on his walls, pictures of the two of them and the workers during the war. Everything had been simpler when there was a war going on, an actual enemy to fight, not just assassinating troublemakers for the good of those who were against them to begin with.  
  
"I'm not talking about the original pilots, Duo." Duo snapped his head back. 'What is he getting at?"  
  
"What would you say if I built you three more Gundams."  
  
"What good would that do? I can only pilot one at a time, and I refuse to let a Gundam become a mobile doll." Duo angrily interrupted his teacher and stood up. He had grown taller in the last few years and was now a foot higher than Howard.  
  
"I'll make you the three Gundams." Howard poked Duo I the chest to emphasize his point. "But you're the one who's gonna train three new pilots."  
  
"WHAT?!? I can't train somebody!" Howard sighed, he had been hoping that Duo would take this better.  
  
"Look, what happens if you ever die? Or are caught, or get to old to be a soldier? Who's going to take over and keep this world from going out of control?" Duo finally calmed down and sat again, as Howard leaned on his desk and stared at him intently.  
  
"Maybe. But who would be the new pilots?" Duo looked much older than 21 as he contemplated raising three new Gundam pilots. 'It'll be different. I'll train them. Not like the doctors did to us. And if I'm there with them, they can just be my backup. Yeah.'  
  
"I leave you to decide Duo. But if you ask me, I think that boy Matt would be a good choice to start with."  
  
"Yeah. He would be the best, he's young enough to be taught everything, and he already knows about the Gundams. But what about the other two."  
  
Howard just shrugged. Duo stood and walked out of the office, mumbling to himself about who should be a pilot. 'Better go talk to Jason, make sure it's okay with him.' Jogging down the hall, Duo came out in the hangar and saw that Matt was right where he had left him.  
  
"Hey Matt! You seen your dad anywhere lately?" The boy raised his arm and pointed to the secret hangar, where the Deathscythe was.  
  
"Thanks kiddo!" Running down the hallways, Duo ran every child he knew through his head, trying to find someone suitable to be a pilot. He was coming up short.  
  
"Yo Jason!" Duo waved up to the man who was lugging a heavy metallic case up the stairs to the catwalk. He just smiled back and continued with his load.  
  
"Wait up!" Duo swung himself over the railing and took the steps two at a time. When he reached the catwalk beside the Deathscythe's cockpit he stopped and panted for a few seconds. Jason just laughed at him and pried the top off of the box he had. Inside were rows and rows of cockpit system files. Duo recognized most of them as ones he had inside his own Gundam, but there were many new ones too.  
  
"Look Jason, I talked to Howard." The head mechanic just nodded to him and began to sift through the system files, looking for a specific one.  
  
"He wants me to train three more pilots. That way I'll have some backup when I go into missions." Waiting for a reaction Duo just stood there. But Jason was intent on his search for the file. Duo pouted and decided to go on, whether the muscle headed mechanic heard him or not.  
  
"I was thinking that Matt would make a great assassin. Plus the kid is amazing with mechanics, he could probably fix his own Gundam. And training him would be a snap since he lives here already." Duo paused, hoping that he wasn't about to be hit for even suggesting it. But Jason never moved.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"What did you say?" Duo gawked at his friend.  
  
"I said sure. Matt's the most logical choice. And I'll be here to keep an eye on him while you train him."  
  
Duo was speechless. A rare thing, and Jason smirked at him when there was no witty comeback.  
  
"Ah ha. There it is." Pulling one of the files out, Jason blew away all the dust that had collected on this one. He stood up and towered over Duo. For a second, his smile faded and his face was emotionless.  
  
"If you get Matt hurt, I'll kill you. Understand?" Duo gulped and nodded. Then the small smile returned to Jason's face and he held up the diskette for Duo to see.  
  
"What is it?" Duo took the disk, and thought it looked strangely familiar.  
  
"It's the Zero system."  
  
"No way." Duo calmly tossed the disk back to Jason. He turned to walk away but a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him.  
  
"Doc ordered that you learn how to control the Zero system Duo. Don't worry, we'll have it set up in virtual reality so nothing can really happen."  
  
"In other words, so I don't kill all you guys off." Duo brushed the hand away from his shoulder and looked into Jason's soft eyes.  
  
"Howard ordered that the new Gundams will be fitted with Zero. You need to train the kids to use it. These Gundams are made to be operated with this system, they'll never be strong enough on their own."  
  
"The new kids will be trained on Zero." Duo let his sentence trial off. There were only three people who had mastered the Zero system. Quatre, although he hadn't been the best at it. Zechs, who was in space with Noin working on the terraforming project. And Heero. Duo's eyes lit up. Heero, who was taking care of his wife and son. 'His son. If Alae inherited anything at all from Heero, strength, intelligence, anything at all, he'd have the best chance of becoming a pilot like his father. Maybe he could even control Zero.'  
  
"I've got an idea for a second pilot Jason."  
  
"Huh?" Jason just blinked at the retreating form of Duo, who was planning how to steal his best friend's son from under his nose. 'It'll be a challenge all right. But I've never been one to walk away from a good dare.' Duo smiled and wondered what Alae had grown up to look like.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Well, I hope you all liked this first chapter. Please review, so I can know if I should keep it up. I wonder if any of you know why Alae's name is Alae. Take a guess on your reviews and I'll tell you guys in the opening of the next chapter. ^_~ by the way, it's pronounced "ally". Later people! 


	2. Upgraded

AC 209 (9 years later)  
  
"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!" Duo's ears perked up and he stood to look down the hallway in the direction of the shouts. Shaking his head he looked to Jason who just shrugged at him. They both recognized the soft, normally gentle voice.  
  
Black sneakers skidded around the corner, followed by a pair of worn out brown combat boots. The two boys took off again once they had regained their balance and darted out into the hangar, heading for Duo and Jason. The eyes of the two adults widened and they took a few steps back, motioning the boys away.  
  
The boy in the lead skidded to a halt in from of his trainers, his black sneakers squeaking on the smooth floor. He wore a very loose pair of khakis that reached just below his knees. A belt held them up, but let the top part of the shorts hang out to the sides. His top was a royal blue tanktop that clung tightly to his small chest. The tanktop was tucked under the lip of his shorts and made the boy appear thinner than he really was. His hair was a dark blonde, like the faded color of a dyed blond. A strange color for growing naturally, but it complimented the boy's eyes perfectly. Anyone who met this fourteen year old would forever remember his eyes. They were a dark metallic blue with the exception of the center, where they faded to a light cornflower blue. With his almost orange hair and blue eyes, the boy was born color coded.  
  
"Alae. What have you done this time?" Duo playfully chastised his trainee.  
  
After a few pants, he stood up, barely reaching Duo's mouth. Although his hair was easily as far up as Duo's eyes. Of anyone the braided man had ever met, Alae's hair was the most ridiculous. 'He had to have gotten that from Heero...only much worse.' The hair stuck out in all directions, with one unusually big spike sticking in front that occasionally fell into the swirling blue eyes.  
  
"Hey, what about Matt. It's his fault too!" Alae smiled and poked his silent companion but Matt just smirked back.  
  
His brown hair had grown out a bit, just past his ears in the past few years when he let it go. He also wore shorts, but his were camouflage and tattered at the end. In the summer it got unusually hot on Earth, which Duo hadn't expected when he had come here all those years ago. But the boys, having grown up here, weren't used to the cold of a home like outer space. Matt wore a dark green t-shirt that was baggy even on his muscular frame. He was taller and much stronger than Alae, taking after his father. Over the t-shirt he almost always wore his camouflage vest that he had cut the arms off of. Combat boots and Matt's dogtags which he wore constantly finished off his outfit. He still never spoke, but Duo had been glad at how easily Matt and Alae got along.  
  
"Ah-ha. Found you. You guys are so dead now." 'The boys got along fine and cause trouble with each other. It's that one I'm worried about.' Duo looked at the third of his charges and wondered what he had been on when he decided on his choice for the third pilot.  
  
Vicious dark green eyes glared at the two culprits. Raising a delicate hand with black nail polish shining in the fluorescent lights, Fia pointed like death to her two victims. The girl was very beautiful, with a strong and thin body. 'She still looks like she lives on the street, I'm going to have to force feed that girl soon.' Duo cocked an eye at her attire, a black midriff shirt with short sleeves and a black pleated skirt. Under the skirt was a pair of black fishnet stockings and ankle high black leather boots. Even her face was done up with the gothic look that Fia loved so much, black eyeliner and black lipstick. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, with just one strand left to dangle in her face down to her chin. Her hair was black, with the exception of her light brown roots that were starting to grow back. Nevertheless, she didn't look like a Gundam pilot right now.  
  
"Fiasha...why are you dressed like that?" Duo laughed at the girl, looking very out of place in the middle of a hangar filled with grease spotted jumpsuits.  
  
"Well, I was supposed to be going out on a date, if it weren't for these two bitches coming into my room-" The two boys in question began to laugh and cut off Fia's rant. One eye twitched and she took a few steps closer to the boys. Alae yelped and he and Matt jumped behind the protection of Duo and Jason.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Duo yelped as Alae grabbed onto his braid and hid behind him. Very few people ever touched Duo's hair, the man had lost a lot of his lightheartedness from when he was younger, but Alae had a habit of always clinging to Duo's braid when he found himself in that area. Even as a kid, Duo would feel a tug and turn around to see Alae smiling up at him.  
  
"So what did you two troublemakers do to make her chase you down seven hallways all the way from the barracks?" Jason grinned down at his son, who was cautiously averting his eyes to the ceiling, then the floor, then the ceiling again.  
  
Alae grinned and opened his mouth but Matt wisely nodded his head against doing so. Alae's mouth closed and he took a step out from his hiding place. But not before his prism-like blue eyes swept over Duo while he wasn't looking. He knew that Duo was older than him, much older. But he didn't look it. Having grown up in space, Duo's body aged slower than a person on Earth. His real age was 30, but in Earth standards his body was that of a 24 year old. 'Still ten years. Why couldn't I have been born earlier.' Alae broke his gaze from the violet eyes that were curiously watching Matt and looked up...into two sharp emeralds.  
  
"Eep." He muttered. Fia reached out and grabbed Alae by his tanktop and pulled him close, before hissing her words out very slowly into the frightened boy's face.  
  
"Give...them...back...Alae."  
  
Alae swallowed very slowly before reaching into a pocket of his khakis. Shakily he pulled out two small pieces of paper and passed them to the girl in front of him.  
  
"Here ya go."  
  
"Thank you. And if you ever do that again, I will kill you."  
  
Duo blinked. Then began to laugh hysterically. Matt and the rest of the group stared at him like he was insane.  
  
'He hasn't laughed like that in years. Wonder what's so funny?' Jason thought and smiled to see his friend looking happy again.  
  
'Of all the people, Fia tells Alae, son of the perfect soldier, that she will kill him. Oh man..' Another series of laughter followed before Duo got control of himself and wiped the tears away from his violet eyes.  
  
Jason blinked. Then he shook his head and looked back at Fia.  
  
"So what did they take from you that's so important anyway?" Crossing his arms, the impressive man stood with an inquiring look and Fia groaned.  
  
"It's...umm..nothing..really...ummm.." Shifting her dark green eyes back and forth across the ground the one black strand swayed back and forth. Jason cleared his throat and she looked up, angry at her teacher infringing on her personal life.  
  
"I'm going to the freakin ballet." Crossing her arms, Fia humphed and walked swiftly out of the hangar.  
  
"I don't get it." Duo said, scratching his head. But the boys began to laugh again and Jason gave up, walking back towards his room.  
  
"Fia's the biggest tomboy ever. If she were any more of a tomboy, she'd have a dick."  
  
Duo just blinked again and tried to process what Alae was talking about and what it had to do with laughing.  
  
"So you two are late for you training, Fia is pissed off and storming around, and all this is because you two were making fun of her going to the ballet." Duo tapped his foot a few times and glared down at the boys with his arms crossed. Alae wilted under the gaze of his teacher and broke off eye contact. His dark eyes flicked over to Matt who visibly gulped and nodded his head.  
  
"That's what I thought. You two are hopeless." Duo muttered as he walked toward the three Gundams standing in the main hangar. Alae and Matt followed like two boys caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  
  
"S-So what are we doing today?" Alae ventured nervously and flinched and Duo turned his head to glare back at them. Then he smiled and there was a collective relieved sigh from the pilots in training.  
  
"Zero training today."  
  
"Oh man.."  
  
Duo began to climb the metal stairs to the catwalk beside the three newest Gundam models. The two boys, looking bored, followed quickly. 'I hate Zero training. Why does he make us do it so often anyway. We all picked it up fast, and we have complete control over it.' Alae had been too busy thinking to notice that Duo had stopped and ran into his back.  
  
"Haha. Hey, watch it there kid. We haven't gotten to the part where you're supposed to be reckless yet." Duo looked like he had gotten out of his bad move and smiled down at Alae, who was being held up from falling down the stairs by Matt.  
  
"It's not like either of us have ever done anything reckless," Alae winked at Matt "at least not under the Zero."  
  
"Hopeless." Duo walked across the metal plank to the cockpit of Alae's Gundam. Fitting for the boy, although he never knew that his father was a Gundam pilot, Alae received the revamped Wing Zero. The blue and red chest plates of the Wing Zero were kept, as well as the green gem. On the new Zero's legs were attached missile launchers, much like there were on the Heavyarms. The face of the Gundam was the same, but the gold head ornament had more spikes. The main difference between this version of Zero and it's predecessors was that this one didn't have a rifle of any kind. Any weapons of mass destruction would be useless in this era where they had to be silent assassins, taking out only those they had to and not getting caught doing it. To make up for the lack of a buster rifle, the Neo-Zero was equipped with two laser swords, strapped to it's back. The two swords could be combined, and the red beam and green would twist together to form a more powerful sword.*  
  
"Hey Jason, feel free to get Matt set up..in.." Duo swung his head around, searching for his head mechanic.  
  
Matt nodded his head in the direction of the barracks were everyone's rooms were.  
  
"Ah, of course." With a heavy sigh, Duo finished inputting the code that only he knew for the Zero system, and walked back towards the main catwalk. Jerking back towards the cockpit with his thumb, he smiled at the young Yuy. The fire in those blue eyes and the concentration on his face betrayed the warrior's blood in his veins.  
  
"Remember, Neo-Zero won't move with the Zero inputted, but if you start to lose control, better to use the auto shut down just in case."  
  
"Yes dad." Alae said sarcastically and jumped into his cockpit, enthusiastic about training with Zero. It would be an easy day for him, the Zero had always obeyed him perfectly, he'd never once had an issue with it.  
  
Heavy shoes thumping along the metal catwalk, Duo came to the next Gundam in line. The Semitra. This mobile suit had the white arms and legs of all Gundams, but had sharp elbow and knee covers painted dark blue, nearly black. The chest of the Gundam was a dark green, with dark blue tips on the pointed hornlike tips that pass over the Gundams shoulder joint. These two sharp triangles covered up the shoulder vulcans on the Semitra's shoulders. Although the shoulder vulcans provided some cover, the Semitra's major weapon was along it's back. A dark green bow was magnetically held to the back of the Gundam. When used as a weapon, an energy line was formed and both energy arrows, as well as anything else could be fired. Fia was notorious for stealing missiles from downed MS's and shooting them from her bow. Semitra was built for providing cover fire and long range fighting, and did so perfectly with it's dark blue and green hiding it easily.  
  
Matt stared up at the face of the Gundam, squinting in the darkness to see the dark points on the sides of it's face, which blended into the dark hangar perfectly. Then his soft questioning eyes met with his teacher's, asking silently as always.  
  
"Why not put the stealth cloak on the Simetra, just like on the Deathsycthe right? Make them both perfectly stealthy." Matt smiled and cocked his head, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Well Matt. You're the only one who has ever seen or knows about the Deathscythe. I," Duo paused, for once looking unsure of what to say, "It's just as a safety precaution. I need to have some advantage over these three. And if I ever need to check up on them during a mission, I can use the stealth cloak. If Fia had one too, she's be able to detect my electromagnetic field interrupting hers."  
  
Matt just smiled at his friend. He walked forward and patted Duo on the shoulder, shaking his head in mock sadness.  
  
"Oh gimme a break, I am NOT worried about you guys being better than me. Now get in your Gundam, soon you guys will be using the Zero system on actual missions, you better be ready for it."  
  
The 15 year old saluted his instructor and walked away to the cockpit of his own Gundam. Being a hacker genius, Matt could have figured the password of the Zero out on his own. Duo trusted Matt with all his secrets, plus the boy had been raised in the hangar and knew everything already.  
  
Matt pressed a button and the cockpit of his Gundam swung open. The chest plate of the Bladefire was a dark burnt orange. Underneath it were two gattling cannons, which Duo had managed to get Trowa to help install. On the face of the Gundam was a dark brown line running from the corner of its eye to its chin. On the top of its head was a three pronged triton-like gold ornament. Matt has specifically made the curving horns to put on the Bladefire. The two curved prongs went perfectly with the Gundams arms. On each forearm were two enormous blades. Each one was silver and was bright compared to the dark brown forearm plates, which matched the equally dark shin plates. Both blades were permanently on the arms, and were shaped in a curved triangle, like a shark fin. When Matt truly got into battle, the gattling guns were rarely used, he preferred to slash his way through enemies.  
  
Matt crawled slowly into the cockpit of the Bladefire before sitting down. As the door closed, Matt gave a thumbs up to Duo and began to punch in the code to engage the Zero system training.  
  
Duo took a step back to look at the three forbidden weapons which stood still and calm, two with glowing green eyes. Their pilots fought each other ferociously from inside, but with no damage to each other. 'Except the chance of insanity.' Duo had never thought that making the three pilots master Zero was a good idea, he himself had yet to do it completely. Thinking about it, Duo decided to go do some work on the Deathsycthe, one of it's cloaking shields seemed to be moving slower than the others, and this was a rare time he had away from his charges.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
*If any of you have played Zelda: Majora's Mask and gotten Oni-Link, he has this wicked two bladed sword, and the blades twist around each other. Think that when I'm talking about the energy swords. ^_^  
  
That was kinda a boring chapter. Sorry people, it will get more exciting, I promise. I had to explain the characters and the Gundams, but I swear it'll get better. ^_^ please don't leave. Oh, for any of you who are reading this, Alae is Latin for wings. I though it was fitting. Try and figure out why the Gundam is named Simetra. It has a secret meaning too. Later readers! 


	3. Schooltime

AC 200  
  
"Are we ready?" Duo said into the headset he was wearing. After a moment of static, another voice spoke in the earpiece of the headset.  
  
"Yep, they're almost on their way."  
  
"Good job Jason. You're in position, right?"  
  
"Roger. I'm shutting down my headset now, if you need to reach me, send Matt."  
  
"Good luck Jason." Duo heard the static clear as the other headset was turned off. Matt tugged on his arm and Duo bent down to see what was bothering the five year old. The young boy pointed out over the edge of the roof. Duo stood up and saw it coming down the road that led to the campus. A black limousine. 'Thank the Lord. I guess someone finally made her get rid of the pepto-bismobile.'  
  
"Haha. Thanks Matt. Now," Duo leaned down and tied the black tie around Matt's neck. The boy wore a pair of black slacks and a white button up shirt. "If we need you to carry a message or give a signal, we'll call you on this headset, okay?" Duo handed the headset to the boy and he took it before giving a salute and smile to his teacher. The brunette took off, heading for the stairs that led down from the roof.  
  
"Frequency 10 Matt! Don't forget!" The boy waved his hand but didn't bother to turn around as he ran down the steps leading into the halls and halls of classrooms. Duo went back to his perch as lookout for the mission and took in the campus. As private schools went, this one was easily in the top ten between the ones on Earth and in the colonies. Passing by, it looked like a college campus, with the exception that all the children running around were in high school or lower.  
  
Huge brick buildings were spread around the campus, some dorm rooms to house the boys and girls, and some full of classrooms. Duo had chosen the tallest, giving him the best vantage point of this mission. This school was also on a brilliant schedule, three months straight at the school, the one month of vacation. This repeated every year, the break being around Christmas, Easter, and late summer. The schedule was perfect for Duo's purpose, he would have Alae in his custody for the majority of the year to train and during the three months of his absence, Matt and himself could pick up the slack. 'And the other pilot. I still have to choose another kid to train. Ah well, now's not the time to think about that.'  
  
Duo picked up his binoculars and saw that the limo had stopped at the front gate. The passenger door opened up quickly and a woman stepped out. She wore a long denim skirt and a pink long sleeved turtleneck. She turned in circles, admiring the view of the impressive school. 'Relena.' Duo smirked at the girl who he had often risked his neck and the necks of others to save. But it had been worth it. She truly had brought total pacifism to the world, with a little help from the Preventers and a few underground groups. 'Like us of course.' Finally the woman's eyes focused across the car at her husband who had just stepped out.  
  
"Heero.." Duo barely noticed that he had whispered the name out loud as a tall, strong looking man rose from the front of the car. His brown hair stuck out in every direction, but was still the dark chocolate color that Duo had gotten used to seeing every day. Heero stood in one place, but his dark eyes swept over the area, checking for dangers no doubt. 'Same old Heero.' Duo could still remember their wedding, and all the difficulties that went with it. Everyone had been against the two marrying at such a ridiculously young age, but Relena and Heero did it anyway. Relena had been the one really pushing for it. 'I always thought it was because she thought Heero would leave her eventually and so she married him to keep him around. Guess I was wrong.'  
  
The back seat door opened and something jumped out, landing hard on the pavement. Duo could barely see a spike of dark blonde hair over the top of the limo from where he stood. The boy went running up to his mother and hugged her around her knees, giggling and looking around excitedly. 'He definitely got that hair from Heero. But the color is more like Relena. I wonder...' Duo focused in his binoculars as much as he could and aimed at the boys eyes. They were mostly a dark cobalt color, with the exception of an inner ring of light blue.  
  
A man walked up to the front of the car, dressed in a brown business suit. Duo had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing at Jason, the grease monkey, dressed up in a suit that looked like it hadn't been worn in a decade. He shook Heero and Relena's hands, and bent down to give Alae a high five. When he stood up again, Jason motioned to the three of them to follow him and began to lead them through the campus, pointing out things of interest.  
  
"Phase 1 complete. Jason's on his way to you guys. Go ahead with Phase 2."  
  
"Roger." Two female voices answered over the headset and Duo watched intently as one of the harder parts of the plan unfolded. After he was sure that he was out of view, Duo leapt from the roof into a nearby tree and eventually to the ground. Staying in the shadows, he ran around the back of a nearby building and darted inside the back door, which had been conveniently propped open for him.  
  
Once inside, Duo found the classroom that their plan was revolving around. Room 504. Across from this classroom was a well placed stairwell, with a window in the door. Risky as it may have been, Duo went into the stair well and took up a place against a wall, keeping his watch through the window. Two girls, one with short blond hair and one with short black hair walked by the window. 'Caitlyn and Nicole. Good, they're on schedule.'  
  
Caitlyn walked up and knocked politely on the door. An old woman with gray hair and glasses opened up the heavy wooden door and asked why the younger girls were here.  
  
"Ma'am, is your car a red Buick skylark parked in the west parking lot?" The blond girl asked.  
  
"Why yes it is, why?" Now the old woman's suspicious nature was replaced by concern for her car.  
  
"It appears that someone has broken into it." The old woman gasped.  
  
"I'm a substitute here," The raven girl piped up and stepped forward. "I'll keep an eye on your class if you'd like to go see what's wrong."  
  
"Thank you." The old woman hurried forward and the blond girl Caitlyn followed closely behind, explaining about the condition of the car.  
  
'Phew. That went about as well as can be expected.' Duo waited patiently as Nicole entered the room and began talking and teaching the children. 'Good thing Howard has such competent granddaughters.'  
  
Heavy footsteps out in the hall caused Duo to slink down in his seat on the stairs, but leaving his eyes on the window to the hall. Jason walked by, still talking and motioning to numerous things. Then he pointed to Room 504 and took a step forward, turning the knob and opening the door. Relena walked by, holding Alae's hand and Heero followed a step behind. 'He's got that same expression. Mr. Perfect soldier still even after these five years of peace. I never would have thought you'd let such a mistake happen Heero.'  
  
Duo and the other pilots had been some of the few to know the real reason behind Heero and Relena's quick marriage. Relena was pregnant. Duo often wondered what would have happened if Heero wasn't tied to Relena through their child.  
  
The four left the classroom, apparently satisfied by the way it looked. When he was sure that they had left the building, Duo ran out of the building and stood in a grove of trees, trying to stay hidden as he changed the frequency on the headset.  
  
"Caitlyn?" Duo whispered as quietly as he could, in case Caitlyn was still with the elderly teacher.  
  
"I'm here Duo."  
  
"Good girl. Everything is going fine, they finished touring the classroom and Nicole and is going to take care of the class until their real teacher returns. Do you know your next part of this mission?"  
  
"Yep. I'm already positioned outside the office. Mrs. Lita will be going on her lunch break in exactly three minutes."  
  
"Alright, Jason won't be bringing them around to fill out those forms for at least ten minutes, is that enough time to get in and get everything in order?"  
  
"Yeah, that's plenty of time. But Duo, what if Mrs. Lita tries to get back to her office early and we aren't done yet?"  
  
"Don't worry, I'll be back on the roof and watching her. If she tries to get back and you aren't finished yet I'll stall her."  
  
"Okay Duo. Over and out." Caitlyn's headset clicked softly off and Duo was once again hurrying up the fire escape alongside the building. 'All this work...that squirt better be worth it.'  
  
Duo flung himself over the top railing and ran across the roof. He kneeled down and took out his binoculars again, quickly finding the three who were walking down the main sidewalk that wound it's way through the campus. Alae was walking stealthily ahead, chasing a squirrel that didn't even notice he was there. Relena was chatting happily to Jason and Duo was relieved that at least one of Alae's parents looked relaxed and pleased with the school. Heero on the other hand. 'Geez, you'd think not being a soldier would have done something, anything. But no, still hard icy glare, same stoic walk.' Duo's eyes wandered over his ex-partner and he couldn't help but sigh. 'And looks like I haven't changed much either, I still can't control myself when I see him.'  
  
A large wooden door opened as Jason led the group into the building, right on schedule. 'Well, looks like now we just have to wait for them to sign up all the paperwork, and Alae can begin training in less than a week.' A woman's voice cut through the wind in the trees and Duo turned curiously towards it. 'I can't watch them inside that building anyway, might as well see what's up.'  
  
As he casually strolled to the other side of the rooftop, Duo caught site of someone running by down below him. The boy's brown hair was being tossed around as an older man in a vest chased after him. 'Of all the freakin idiotic...'  
  
Duo took a step back before flinging himself off the roof. His hand barely caught on the tree branch and from there he fell to a branch that was closer to the ground. With one final leap Duo ended up about twenty feet from where the boy was tearing along. He whistled to get the kids attention and then walked very calmly across the sidewalk to the alley between buildings.  
  
Matt turned as quickly as he could and saw Duo waiting next to one of the fire escapes with his hands cupped together and bent down. Matt jumped up and placed one foot in Duo's hands.  
  
"And up ya go!" Duo threw the boy up and his small hands grabbed onto the metal bars of the fire escape and took off as fast he could up the stairs. Duo lounged against a wall, trying to look as relaxed as he could.  
  
"WHERE DID HE GO?!?!" The old man turned into the alleyway and stopped in front of Duo, huffing and panting.  
  
"Little kid, brown hair, bout his high?" Duo motioned to about Matt's height.  
  
"Yeah, did you see where the little bastard went?"  
  
"Right through that door." Duo pointed to the door which was still propped open from before.  
  
"Thanks." And then the man was gone.  
  
"Another mission complete. Now to go murder Matt." Duo could barely hear a small frightened sound from above as Matt looked down, his eyes round and huge.  
  
"Eh don't worry kid, I'm not really gonna kill you." Matt remained still for a few minutes before carefully climbing down the fire escape.  
  
Duo ruffled his brown hair in a show of affection and motioned for him to follow. Matt nodded and began to walk quietly after his mentor. The two went around the building, alternating between being stealthy and trying to look normal. When the approached the door, Duo was planning on going in and hiding in a room near to where Heero and Relena were filling out papers.  
  
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.  
  
"It's so wonderful that you've decided to let your son join us here at our school..." Duo didn't hear the rest of what Jason said to the Yuys as he grabbed Matt and threw himself in a nearby bush.  
  
Duo put his hand to Matt's mouth then remembered that the boy didn't speak. He held his breath and sat as still as he could inside the bush which was scratchy and dark. Matt squirmed in his hand and Duo stopped holding him as hard. Matt smiled up and sat down on Duo's lap, peering out of the bush at his father and the family walking by. Duo tried to not make a single noise as the shoes of Heero and Relena passed by. The last in the group was Alae, and as he walked by, he stopped.  
  
'Oh shit.'  
  
Alae's dark piercing blue eyes met up with the brown ones that were staring at him from the bush. Matt put his finger to his lips and Duo prayed that Alae would keep quiet, otherwise, the whole mission was a failure.  
  
Alae opened his mouth to say something when a squeaking noise was heard by all three. A squirrel was playfully jumping along the walkway and Alae followed it, his attention having shifted from bush people to small creatures.  
  
"God bless squirrels." Matt just laughed at Duo's silliness and the two climbed from their hiding place.  
  
"Mission complete."  
  
"AHHH!" Duo jumped a few feet in the air before whirling around.  
  
Jason just grinned at him and flashed a v-sign at his son.  
  
"Don't DO that man, you nearly gave me a heart attack."  
  
"Sorry." Jason smiled and picked Matt up, placing him up on his shoulders.  
  
"So did they sign?"  
  
"Of course they did. Did you ever doubt me?"  
  
Duo just patted his friend on the back as they walked to the van where the rest of the group were waiting.  
  
"So you got yourself a second pilot."  
  
"And nearly lost this one." Duo jerked his thumb at Matt who shrunk away from him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I found this little guy getting chased by some old guy who seemed really pissed at him."  
  
Jason stopped walking and lifted his head back to look into his son's eyes.  
  
"Matt...what did you do?"  
  
Matt stuck his hand in his pocket and searched around for a few minutes. Finally he pulled his hand out in a fist and smiled down at the two adults. Putting out his fist, Matt opened it to reveal a small piece of metal and wires.  
  
"What is that...." Duo sounded physically ill as he looked at the stolen bit of circuitry. Jason took it out of Matt's hand and examined it closely.  
  
"This looks like an alarm of some sort. Matt," Jason's voice took on an eerie calm that any fathers could. "Where did you get this from?" Matt pointed a finger at one of the dorm buildings. Jason and Duo followed his finger and saw that the old man was pulling at one of the doors. Next to it was an intercom box that had been broken into.  
  
"You little thief." Duo grinned at Matt, feeling somewhat guilty, as if his bad habits had rubbed off on the kid.  
  
"If we weren't in danger of being arrested if we go back there, I'd make you apologize to that guy and hook the lock back up." Matt looked sorry and laid his head on his fathers.  
  
"Awww..." Jason took a swing at Duo for that, and the three finally reached the car that would take them back to the base, where Matt would soon have a partner in crime. 


	4. Generations

AC 209  
  
Matt lifted his head as he heard the soft thunk from nearby. There was only a brief delay from his work as he again turned his head to work with the broken pair of night vision goggles.  
  
Fia's worn out sneakers barely crunched on the grass as she walked to the tree Matt was sitting against. She reached forward and yanked out the arrow which was imbedded two feet above where Matt's head hung over his invention. A target had been roughly carved into the large old tree which stood on the edge of a forest. Fia pulled out a few more arrows from branches nearby and a few from the ground around the brunette.  
  
She walked back across the small field that surrounded this specific base and found her bow sitting in the grass where she left it. She placed her arrows in a pile and picked up the weapon, looking for a new target. Instead, her piercing emerald eyes fell on the third member of their trio, leaning against a tree about ten feet from the one her target, and Matt, were on.  
  
"Aren't you two supposed to be training?" She shouted at the two boys who lounged about, enjoying the sunlight. Matt looked up at her and blew the strands of his soft brown hair out of his face before returning to his work.  
  
"Okay....I guess you are training, but what about you?" She turned her eyes to Alae who was still not paying attention to her. He sat just within the edge of the forest and the sunlight flickered over him with the breeze, bits of gold and shadow playing on his face. His face was intent as he looked from the sketchbook in his lap to the branches far above.  
  
Fia watched the boy concentrate, his blue eyes shifting from dark as he leaned over his sketch, to light when he gazed up into the sunlight. 'How come he gets to relax while I'm working my ass off?' Cocking back one of her arrows, Fia closed one dark eye and pulled her strong arm back. She let the string go and the arrow flew straight at the boy with the soft twang of the string.  
  
Alae bent down the slightest inch as the metal tipped wooden arrow pierced the soft bark of the tree. One of his unruly bangs fell into his eyes and he pushed away the light brown hair which was beginning to turn orange and blond from sitting too long in the sun. Finally his concentration was broken as he looked up at the arrow which hung like a limbo stick above his head.  
  
Fia stalked over, upset by the fact that Alae had once again dodged her shot, and peered down at the boy's sketchbook.  
  
"Alae....why are you drawing a squirrel?"  
  
"Cause." The boy went back to his work and looked up at the gray squirrel who happily sat on the branch eating his acorn. The branch was about 20 feet above the ground and on a nearby tree, giving the artist a beautiful silhouette of the small creature as the sun filtered through the leaves behind him. Fia's hand clenched on her bow and reached with her other hand to grab the arrow in the tree. Pulling the string taut, she sent the arrow flying. Alae tried to stop her but had been too engrossed in his picture to do so in time.  
  
The acorn in the squirrel's small hands was split in hand by the sharp tip of the arrow. Being a small and jittery creature, the squirrel leapt a few inches before running away along the branch.  
  
"Why'd you do that?" Alae stood up and his solemn glare caused Fia to take a step back. Or possibly it was because when he had stood his face ended up directly in front of hers. And very close.  
  
"Training. We are supposed to be training here. I'm tired of Duo always going easy on you guys." Alae sighed heavily before turning away and picking up his sketchbook, closing it up and tucking it under his arm.  
  
"Wait.." Alae stopped in his tracks on his way to Matt and turned back to look at Fia. She was wearing a black sports bra and a pair of loose black athletic shorts. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail and one strand fell into her face.  
  
"I'm sorry I chased away your subject." Alae still stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes a dark blue in the shadow of his wild hair. Then he gave her a small smile.  
  
"It's okay. I was nearly done anyway."  
  
"Can I see your sketches?" Fia blurted it out and ran forward, all her awkwardness forgotten when Alae's forgiving smile returned.  
  
"If you want." He handed the book over and Fia began to flip through it. There were a lot of picture of Neo-Zero, Simetra, and Bladefire. A few pictures of random things such as squirrels, original creations, and what seemed to be a strange obsession with shadows. One of the pictures was nothing but the shadows cast by a full moon on the grounds around the base. Alae had painted that picture, while most of the others were only sketched, and Fia found it the most beautiful so far. Then she turned the page.  
  
The remainder of the pictures were of Duo, and Fia smirked at Alae with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"I see.." There were also a few of Alae himself, Matt, and even herself. But the majority seemed to be of their violet eyed teacher.  
  
"Well....you know...." Alae looked uncomfortable and bit his lip as Fia continued to scrutinize every picture of Duo. 'Oh man. She's getting closer- '  
  
A loud explosion caused Alae and Fia to both jump before assuming fighting stances and searching for the source of the apparent attack.  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Jason knocked loudly on the door and hoped for once that Duo would reply. Inside Shinigami lay on his bed, with his eyes glazed over, half asleep. He was laying on his bed, his arms, legs, and braid hanging off of all the edges. The banging of his door was just barely enough to stir him from his lazy daydream and he sat up. Walking to the door, Duo stretched his arms high above him and rubbed his eyes.  
  
Jason stood impatiently on the other side of the door, the large man staring down at Duo with as much of a grimace as he could muster.  
  
"Wassup. Whatdya wake me fer." Duo slurred out, his mind still taking a nap, whether his body acknowledged it or not.  
  
"You're client is here."  
  
Duo just blinked and cocked his head to one side. Jason sighed heavily before slapping his forehead.  
  
"You forgot? How could you forget? It's Wednesday."  
  
"Okay....hump day. So maybe I forgot to find someone to hump-"  
  
"YOU'LL BE THE DOWNFALL OF US ALL!" Jason interrupted before Duo could continue his train of thought. The violet eyes blinked up at him before suddenly widening. 'Wednesday. Something important is happening one Wednesday, but what?'  
  
"Jason. Exactly who am I supposed to be meeting today??"  
  
"Him." Jason took a step aside and behind him stood a man in a suit. Black pants and a black jacket went well with the extremely light pink button up shirt that the young looking man wore. 'Oh shit.'  
  
"Duo. It's been a while." A warm, welcoming smile and the forgiving blue eyes of the head of the entire Winner fortune met with Duo's worried violet.  
  
"Quatre man, I am SO sorry, really." Quatre had taken longer to fill in than any of the other pilots, and he had gone to live the remainder of his life in the colonies, where he could run his family's business. His body had aged slower even than Duo's, and he retained the youthful looks of a person in their early twenties. His hair had grown out a bit, and was slicked back across his head, in a very business like fashion.  
  
"Duo....you don't have to apologize." Qautre still punctuated his conversation with disarming smiles, but Duo had heard rumors that in the past few years the Winner heir had grown cold and vicious in his dealings with any other enterprises. 'I shouldn't be so quick to believe everything I hear. Quatre is Quatre, and he always will be.'  
  
Duo took a few steps forward and picked up the former pilot in a huge bear hug. Quatre just laughed and shook his head. The two smiled and for a moment, were teenagers again.  
  
"It's been quite a few years since I last came to visit. As I said in my email, our company is prospering quite a bit. We have a surplus of money coming in, and I'm sure the Shin Gamia orphanage could use another donation." Quatre winked at him, and after standing there in shock, Jason finally let out a sigh of relief. 'Good thing that good for nothing didn't blow our only chance at more funding.' He shot a caring glance at the brunette who never grew out of his carelessness.  
  
"Well, the last amount has gotten us farther than we could have imagined."  
  
"So I see. This base is pretty good looking." As the two walked down the hall, Quatre turned his blond head every which way to inspect what his money had been doing all this time.  
  
"You're lucky, me and the kids were gonna have a spar with the Gundams today."  
  
"Really? You don't mind if I watch do you?"  
  
"I'd be honored, Quatre old buddy." Slinging his arm around the man's slimmer shoulders, Duo guided him down a few halls that would eventually lead to the training fields outside.  
  
"But first....we must go get the new pilots."  
  
"That's right, the boy Matt and Heero's son." Both stiffened at the reminder. All four pilots were aware of the new set of pilots, and did everything they could to help them out. None felt pleased about keeping the secret from Heero, but it was a necessary loss.  
  
"And the newest pilot, Fiasha. She's got amazing talent."  
  
"Hmm, I don't believe I've heard about this girl. Where did you find this one?" Quatre smirked up at his old friend as Duo feigned surprise.  
  
"Find. I don't FIND my trainees. I hand pick them specially."  
  
"Uh huh. Where'd ya find her?"  
  
"She picked my pocket one day. A fellow street orphan, I figured I'd give her a shot and she turned out better than I expected."  
  
Relieved that his stressed friend remembered how to laugh, Duo enjoyed the chuckle he had gotten out of him.  
  
"Typical Duo." Their trek halted in front of a large metallic door. Duo walked forward and slipped his keycard through the lock and punched in the code. A reassuring green light turned on and the door slid open to the scent of a warm spring breeze and the sound of laughter.  
  
"What the.." Alae and Fia were laying on the grass, or rather rolling on it. Both were laughing hysterically and clutching at their stomachs as if they were in pain. Duo and Quatre exchanged confused glances.  
  
"Achoo." A small cloud of dust rose from nearby before Matt turned around, his entire face blackened. His brown eyes fluttered inquisitively, before holding up the smoldering remains of the night vision goggles he had been working on.  
  
"Nice to see you again Matt." Quatre smiled at the pilot he had met many years ago, on his last trip to assess the proper use of his funding. Matt tried to wipe away the black grime on his face with his hand, but gave up after a while and walked forward to stand in front of the two legendary pilots. He shook Qautre's hand, then his eyes widened as he looked down.  
  
The billionaire held up his soot covered hand and laughed heartily. Duo let his head hang in shame and rubbed his eyes. 'I can't believe this. Useless. They're completely freakin useless.'  
  
"Hey, who's this guy?" Alae jumped up and ran over to greet the two and Fia followed slowly.  
  
"You must be Alae. My name is Quatre. I fought in the war with Duo."  
  
"Are you another Gundam pilot?" Fia finally became interested in the conversation and ran up next to the Zero pilot.  
  
"Yes he is. This is Qautre Winner. Our financial supporter." The color drained from Fia and Alae's faces, and possibly from Matt's, although under the dust no one could tell.  
  
Smirking, Duo folded his arms as his pilots stood straighter and finally grasped how important this visit was, not just a reunion of past fighters.  
  
"Why don't you three prove that I've been training you well and show off for Quatre here?" Turning to the fried brunette, Duo shook his head again. Matt's brown bangs were standing on end in every direction away from his face and they were streaked black as well. "You go get two sets of Alae's katanas, while Fia shows Quatre what she can do."  
  
Matt nodded and passed by Duo before the older pilots called out to him. "And wash yourself up a bit, huh?" Matt smiled back at him, his white teeth showing up bright against his charcoal face, before turning on his heel and running through the door into the base.  
  
"So while we wait, why don't you show Quatre here how you're training has been going?" Duo crossed his arms and leaned against the building, ready to enjoy the show.  
  
Fia nodded and picked up her bow from where she had left it. Turning, she put on a cocky grin and stared at her instructor.  
  
"How many?"  
  
Feeling out of the loop, Quatre looked between the two, his bright blue eyes blinking in confusion.  
  
"Three. You should be able to do it." Fia never understood why Duo had such endless confidence in her, but she picked up three of her arrows and went to stand in front of the forest. Placing two of the arrows in her mouth, she cocked the third into her bow and pulled it back, ready to fire.  
  
Then she closed her eyes. No one made a sound and only a few birds in a far away tree broke the stillness with their song. After a few minutes of complete silence, a soft breeze blew by. With three sets of eyes watching her intently, Fia's eyes flew open and the green emerald flashed in the bright sunlight. Spinning abruptly to the left she released the arrow and it flew straight into the forest.  
  
A leaf fluttered slowly down on the wind, swaying back and forth, until the arrow shot straight through. Two halves of a leave spiraled downward, and Quatre watched in amazement while the other two boys smiled proudly. Before he could open his mouth to compliment her, Fia had taken an arrow from her mouth and knelt down on the grass, angling her bow high into the treetops. She fired and the arrow pinned a leaf to the bottom of one of the highest branches in the tree. Then she cocked the final one and stood up, firing down the line of trees, slicing another slowly descending leaf in half.  
  
"Wow." Quatre clapped, still stunned by the girl's amazing aim and reflexes. She just smiled and thrust the tip of her long bow into the ground and leaning against it. The door on the wall next to where Duo was leaning opened up and Matt stepped out, his entire head soaked, but now back to its real color. He had four sheaths slung over his shoulder and took them down before smiling at Duo.  
  
"Good timing Matt. Now Quatre, we can show you what Alae can do." Duo took two of the practice katanas and tossed them to Alae. He caught the sheaths and hung one on each of his shoulders, letting the sheaths cross each other over his back. This was the way he always wore them, and the way they were positioned in his Gundam.  
  
"So, you have the mistress archer, are you going to show me what these two boys can do?"  
  
"Well, we can't really show you what Matt's capable of. Jason is busy right now."  
  
Quatre cocked his head to the side, he was becoming more and more confused as this day went on.  
  
"Matt is a master kick boxer. His size and strength helps him with that. The only problem is that the kid's so good that he beats every single opponent except his father. He's also an evil genius."  
  
Quatre looked at the disarmingly kind and silent boy who just grinned at him and flexed an enormous bicep.  
  
"So I see...." 'And I thought our group was a weird bunch of pilots.  
  
"Right then. Here we go." Duo lifted up both sheaths and prepared to take out the blades when a light skinned hand stopped his. He looked at his old friend for a second, unsure of the decision, but then trusting that Quatre knew what he was doing.  
  
Quatre took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his button up shirt. He too slung the two sheaths over his back like Alae. The son of Heero gawked at him in surprise.  
  
"What? I can't fight him Duo. What if I hurt him?"  
  
"Hahaha. This is the former pilot of the Sandrock gundam. Do your best Alae, and don't worry about Quatre, he can handle himself." Duo grinned, wondering about the outcome of this strange battle between generations.  
  
The two faced off against each other, Alae grinning maniacally while Quatre stood calmly with his hands on his hips. Reaching up very slowly, Alae took the handles of his two katanas and drew them from their sheaths. Brandishing the glinting metal blades in front of him, he waited for Quatre to draw as well. But the blond remained in his place, a small smile playing on his pale face.  
  
Shifting his weight forward, Alae ran full tilt at the Winner heir and lunged with both blades. His blue eyes widened in surprise as the older man leaned quickly to the side, avoiding both blades. With one hand propping himself up, Quatre grabbed a sword from his back and slashed at the young Yuy.  
  
Alae saw the sharp blade heading for his unguarded stomach and quickly stabbed both blades into the ground. Like a pole vaulter he swung himself over the blades till he was doing a handstand on them. Quatre's katana struck both of Alae's and the sharp metallic ring meant that the fight had really started.  
  
Alae jumped down and yanked both his swords from the ground, holding them up to protect himself. Quatre was still lying on the ground, his left hand propping him up, but now he stood, and withdrew the second katana from its sheath. Circling slowly around each other, the two pairs of blue eyes bore deeply into one another. One set were calm and still gentle, a small smile helping to add to that effect. The other set, however, had become cold and unfeeling, the face emotionless, a mask of perfection that rarely appeared, and when it did only during the most dire of battles.  
  
'His eyes look like Heero's.' For the second that Quatre relaxed while thinking this, Alae flung himself forward, swiping at Quatre's legs, hoping to knock him down. The older man jumped easily above the two blades and swung his two downward. Alae lept back out of the range of the twin katans, which slashed into the thick grass but stopped before hitting dirt.  
  
Quatre stood with his blades barely touching the ground, and straightened his back. Alae was still crouching against the ground, about five feet away from where the other blond stood. He was bent in the same position he had landed in when he had jumped away from the last attack and brought his katanas slowly up into a defensive position.  
  
Quatre smiled even further, raising one of his hands and carefully using one finger to beckon Alae to attack, while still holding onto his weapon. With a deep breath, the boy ran forward, preparing to hack at Quatre from both sides. The body was gone when he got there. Quatre lay on the ground and brought his feet forward, connecting with the young boy's stomach and hurling him through the air behind him.  
  
Alae tried to roll carefully, so as not to impale himself, but was less than graceful. Sitting up on his knees, Alae felt something cold brush against his skin. Shifting his eyes down, he saw his reflection in the cross section of two katanas. Quatre stood directly in front of him, his katanas crossed and like a pair of scissors were pressed against Alae's neck. Feeling the sharp sides of both blades against both sides of his neck, Alae still looked up and his soldier's mask fell away as he grinned. Quatre just looked confused. With one flick of wrists he could send Alae's head rolling. Only then did the older blond notice something pressed against his stomach.  
  
Duo couldn't believe it. They had ended in a stalemate. Quatre had been preoccupied by placing his blades in the correct position to decapitate Alae to notice that the boy had made sure his swords were pointing up, just in case of such an attack. Quatre looked down at the two swords pressing against his gut and smiled.  
  
"I think we should call this a tie. What do you say?"  
  
Alae nodded and stood up, still wary of the katanas until they left his neck.  
  
"Nicely done Alae. You held your own against a true Gundam pilot. And you," Duo looked at Quatre with a raised eyebrow, "Should be here with us if your skills are still that good."  
  
"I guess old habits die hard." Quatre smiled and in the bright sunlight, with swords in hand, Duo would swear he was still the Sandrock pilot so feared by its enemies.  
  
"Well, I have a big surprise for you three." All three trainees looked at their instructor and for once were respectful. Duo just grinned his classic smile that had not been used in years, and now the three looked ill.  
  
"You three are going to pilot your Gundams, and I'll be your opponent."  
  
"WHAT?!?!"  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
cliffhanger!! Hehe. This chapter took forever, and this was originally only one half of the chapter. I had to break it into two. Sorry the updates are few and far between, I have so much to do right now, I'm busy all the time. Leave a review! Please! :::begs:::: 


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